This invention pertains generally to materials used in building constructions and particularly to an improved member roll-formed from sheet metal, such as sheet aluminum, and combining two unitary panels meeting at a juncture, namely a fascia panel and a soffit panel. This invention provides that a distal portion of the soffit panel defines plural, elongate, preferential bending regions, such as a series of spaced ridges defining a series of spaced grooves, so as to facilitate bending of the distal portion, along a selected one of said bending regions.
In a building construction, it is known to use a roll-formed member combining a fascia panel and a soffit panel, as under a roofing overhang. Usually, when such a member is installed, it is not necessary to modify the height of the fascia panel, as by cutting or bending. However, as measured from adjacent walls, roofing overhangs may have nonstandard widths. Commonly, therefore, it is necessary to modify the width of the soffit panel at a building site, as by cutting the soffit panel or bending the soffit panel.
If the soffit panel is bent is bent to form a wall flange extending upwardly or downwardly when the member is installed, the flange can be then used for fastening of the soffit panel to an adjacent wall, as with nails, staples, or other fasteners driven through the flange into an adjacent wall. If the flange extends downwardly when the member is installed, the flange may be then covered, as with a siding panel or with a wooden trimming strip.
Heretofore, it has been difficult to bend a soffit panel of such a member along a straight bending line, particularly if hand tools are used. Commonly, therefore, a brake capable of bending long members along their full lengths is used to bend a soffit panel of such a member. For some installations, particularly but not exclusively for small remodeling or repairing installations, it may be very inconvenient for an installer to use such a brake.